


Two Days

by ncisduckie



Category: Skip Beat!
Genre: F/M, Gen, One Shot, SUFFER WITH ME, White Day, it follows 262, reaction fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-18
Updated: 2018-09-18
Packaged: 2019-07-13 19:18:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16024295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ncisduckie/pseuds/ncisduckie
Summary: When it was all said and done, Kyoko would have said that it all started with the dandelion ring Tsuruga-san fixed for her. If she hadn't over-reacted, maybe things would have been different. Reaction Fic to 262. White Day Mention. Please R&R!





	Two Days

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to subtlecuddle on tumblr for being the best possible enabler.

The look he gave me when he slipped the ring onto my finger....

I pulled my hand away from Tsuruga-san, my heart in my throat. I looked at the offending flower ring; I wanted to puke. There was no way. It just wasn’t possible. “What—What’s this?”

His brows crinkled together, and for a moment, he had the decency to look confused. “I fixed your ring, Mogami-san.”

Smiling wryly, tears sprung to my eyes. It was truly amazing. Everything was just as Kimiko described about her pinky ring from Tsuruga-san. If I wasn’t careful, I would be sucked in and I would be no better than... I would be no better than Sho. I would help Tsuruga-san break her heart. And I was against that, regardless of what—regardless of what I felt about the man in front of me.... “Would you really do this...to Morizumi-san? I knew you were a casanova, Tsuruga-san but this—”

“Morizumi-san?” He blinked. “Morizumi Kimiko?” Tsuruga-san gave me a look that almost made me rethink my approach. Almost. I’d forgotten that he didn’t know that Kimiko was my opponent in the auditions. Perhaps he wouldn’t have encouraged me like he did if he knew. “What does this have to do with her?”

By extension, he also didn’t know to what extent she was willing to go to snag Momiji. I couldn’t believe he was going to make me spell this out. “What about her? Isn’t she the girl—” I stopped myself. Nobody knew Tsuruga-san was in love with a young actress. Nobody expect Bo, certainly not Mogami Kyoko. I swallowed, trying to pull myself together. I wasn’t going to reveal that today. “I met her in auditions. She...she told me you gave her a ring for White Day.”

He didn’t say anything after that. See? I knew it. Once he knew that I had caught on, he wouldn’t be able to avoid the truth. He would be forced to acknowledge that Morizumi-san doesn’t deserve to be treated so flippantly.

I forced a smile. “Your shameless flirting needs to stop, Tsuruga-san. It gives girls....” My cheeks burned. “It gives girls the wrong impression.” It was bad enough on Yashiro-san had to deal with the fact he was needlessly nice to all the women on every set he worked on. But in his private life, too? I thought I knew him better than that.

“But I didn’t send anything to Morizumi-san this year.” His hand wiped his face and he held his chin. “The last time had to have been two years ago. And it wasn’t a ring. Yashiro picks the gifts, but it’s never something that can be miscontr—”

“Now, I don’t know what boys normally give girls on White Day, but the mere act of a return gift construes some sort of intention on part of the gift giver.” My voice shook, and I curled my fists at my sides. “I know about obligatory gifts, but this is the first year I’ve ever received them. While I still can’t figure out what I did to deserve such a luxury from Director Orgata, I understand the presents I got from Yashiro-san and from my co-workers. And I know about the gifts you gave Momose-san because I know the role she played in your Katsuki.”

Tsuruga-san shook his head. “Mogami-san, I think you’re thinking too much into this.”

“No, I’m not!” I said that a little louder than I wanted, because it felt like I was shouting in his fact. I took a step back and lowered my voice. “Girls think a lot, Tsuruga-san. When you—when you receive a gift from someone... from someone you care about... it means a lot, even if you didn’t mean it to, Tsuruga-san.”

“Morizumi-san was just a co-worker, Mogami-san.”

His voice was strained. In that moment, I didn’t know why he was trying so hard to hide the truth. He told Bo. Even his parting words to Jelly when she and I left Guam seemed rather optimistic. Wasn’t he ready to admit the truth?

I looked up at Tsuruga-san, unable to help from laughing. It was dry and hurt my throat. But I laughed, regardless? “Just a co-worker? Really, Tsuruga-san?” Did he really think that I of all people would fall for that? “Well let me tell you a story about Mogami Kyoko and how her first love ripped her heart to shreds and threw away the pieces:

“I thought Sho’s manager was ‘just a co-worker.’ After all, that’s how the relationship between musician and agent is supposed to work. He told me over and over again that I had nothing to worry about. Music was his number one. I was right after that. Turns out that I never knew that ‘Music’ was a euphemism for ‘big breasts’ and that I was just being strung along for the commodity of having a live-in girlfriend.

“So imagine my surprise when I went to surprise Sho with lunch when he was upset about the results of ‘Hottest Bachelor in Japan’ and he ranked six whole spaces below the almighty Tsuruga Ren and found him straddling his manager on the couch.” I smiled, wiping the tears forming at my eyes before they could fall down my face. I wouldn’t cry about this. Not when I’ve come so far. “I’m sorry, but I won’t let myself be a distraction while you’re stringing along Morizumi-san. She might be an awful person to me, but she doesn’t deserve this. Nobody does.”

I reached forward and grabbed his hand, against my better judgement. Still, Tsuruga-san remained silent. My fingers grazed the cool surface of his watch, the broken one. It barely registered that his watch was on the opposite wrist as usual, but I ignored the observation and instead, opened his hand so his palm faced up.

In a swift moment, I pulled the flower ring from my pinky and dropped it into his hand.

“I think—I think I’d like to walk to set. By myself.” I averted my eyes and studied my shoes. “Please give Yashiro-san my sincerest apologies. And let him know that he won’t have to worry about me this week. He can officially resign as my manager. I’ll text him for the details of my schedule after the table read.”

Tsuruga-san was silent, and I appreciated it. Whatever it was he had to say, I wouldn’t be able to stomach it. I turned on my heels and turned back to the trail leading to the administrative and planning buildings. And I was really proud of myself. I didn’t even look back.

. . .

“Ah, Mogami-san, congratulations on Momiji.” Koga smiled. “I’m surprised to see you made it.”

I looked up, tense. “Thank you, Hiromune-san. I look forward to working with you.” My chest tightened, and my fingers curled around the script in my hands. But I couldn’t help myself from thinking...about what he said about whoever he would do to whichever actress that was cast. He would bully them relentlessly for their interest in Tsuruga Ren. Of course, my senpai would still find a way to torture me regardless of the fact I abandoned him back at the park. “Please— please treat me well.” 

He chuckled. I felt his presence as he crouched behind my chair. His breath tickled my ear. “I notice Tsuruga Ren’s manager isn’t playing your shadow today.”

Of course he would. “It was a temporary situation for the auditions. Tsuruga-san is—” I stopped myself. I was about to say that he was back in town. However, nobody was supposed to know he was ever out of town to begin with. I wasn’t about to sacrifice the sanctity of Cain Heel’s role in Tragic Marker with my big mouth. “Tsuruga-san is now the sole charge of Yashiro-san.”

Unfortunately, my phone had the unfortunate luck to burst into song. It wasn’t my generic ring, instead it was one of the fairy tale orgels Maria sent me when I was in Guam. Tsuruga-san was the only one who had that ringtone. I regretted that decision in that moment.

Incoming Call:  
Tsuruga Ren

I sighed. He had perfect timing, as always. I swiped the screen. Decline. Koga was still watching my movements and I knew he saw who was calling. Wonderful.

“Oh, you know I thought you were just one of the other girls who foolishly fell in love with Ren.” He whispered into my ear. The hair on my arms jumped at the sensation. “I didn’t know you were dating him.”

“I’m not dating Tsuruga Ren.”

It was unlike the situation where he had first brought up Tsuruga-san. This time was different. I was able to actually keep my cool. My face didn’t melt into an oozing mess of obviousness like last time. My phone rang again, ruining my moment of pride.

Incoming Call:  
Yashiro Yukihito

Decline.

“Y’know, agencies with stars as big as Tsuruga Ren don’t usually lend out their stars’ managers.” Koga pulled away from me and stood to his full height.

I gave him a tight-lipped smile. “Exigent circumstances.”

He nodded, his eyes glittering. “Uh, huh. Sure.”

Koga finally walked away with a little jump in his step. Whatever. Let him think whatever he wanted to think. I slumped in my chair and stuffed my script into my bag. Finally. Everybody else had cleared the room while Koga talked to me, apart from the director and the producers. The were all staring at me. My cheeks warmed, and I pushed myself up from the table and rushed out the door. I was going to be late for my meeting with Moko-san.

. . .

“Kyoko, if you’re hiding something from me again, I swear—”

I flinched, pulling my hands to my chest. “Mokooo, it’s not—” I sighed, trying to figure out the best way to dance around the topic. I should have known better than end up at an early dinner by TBM with Kanae. But I’d promised last night. I wasn’t about to back away from a promise. “I just had a long day at the...at the table read.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Long day, like when you were late for your Box-R reading, long day?”

“No. Not like that. I was on time. Early, even.” It was surprising that I managed to be on time, considering how slow I walked. I had too much time to think about everything. I didn’t like it. “It was something else.”

Kanae just stared at me, probably used to

“I—I don’t think Hiromune Koga likes me all that much.”

“Probably because you’re Tsuruga Ren’s kohai.” She said it simply, probably without thinking. “It’s industry known that Hiromune-san is bitter that Tsuruga-san swooped in and took the number one spot without even trying. You gotta admit, it’s kind of infuriating that he’s so good at everything.”

I shook my head. “He’s not good at everything.” He’s not good at relationships, I supplement mentally.

“What did Tsuruga do to piss you off?”

What? Shaking my head, I pulled my hands from the table and my fingers of my right hand ghosted at the pinky where he placed the flower ring. I knew it was a mistake. I messed up. I shouldn’t have come. She’s too adept at reading me. That’s how she tricked me in the karaoke room to tell her about my history with Sho. “N—Nothing! He—”

“If it was a normal day, you would be singing Tsuruga’s praises, talking about how he is miraculously great at everything. You would call him an extraterrestrial being, or something. A god. Today? Nothing.” Kanae raised an eyebrow. “He probably said something and you probably overreacted, or something. Kyoko, I’m pretty sure the man thinks the whole world of you. Give him a chance.”

“I—”

“I get it. You’re scared. We all are; that’s why LoveMe exists in the first place.” Kanae sighed. “Tsuruga-san knows that well. If he’s half the man you ever described him to be, he’s not going to threaten your boundaries. He won’t want to lose you.”

Incoming Call:  
Tsuruga Ren

I cursed, swiping decline. Again. I was thankful that I turned my ringer off for the day after that talk with Koga.

“How many times have you hit decline?”

“Ummm.” I looked up to Kanae, trying to figure out if I could pull off a lie. Looking at her, that answer was definitely no. “A lot,” I admitted.

Kanae was nice enough that she didn’t say anything. She just shook her head with some ghost of a smile playing on her lips. Dang! Why was it that she could read me so well but just looking at her makes me so much more confused? “Now, I hate that I ruined your dinner, but we’ll do something bigger to celebrate later, I hope?” She motioned to her watch. “I’ve got a meeting to get to.”

Right. I couldn’t believe I let myself get distracted and forgot why we were meeting to begin with. My nails dug into my palms. “With the president, right?”

That’s what was supposed to our topic of discussion tonight, and I messed it up. Her call last night, from the producer for Lotus had a proposition for her, pending the approval of the President. It was a role meant for a debut actress. Moko was meeting to figure out if she was allowed to graduate LoveMe.

“Yep.”

My heart beat heavy in my chest. I couldn’t believe she was going to graduate before me. “Good luck, Moko-chan.”

She smiled. “Whatever happens, it’s all because of you, Kyoko. Remember that.”

. . .

When I walked to the studio for Yappa Kimagure Rock, I felt as if I was walking to my doom.

Not for any particular reason. It just felt like a dark aura began to smother me as soon as I made it to my dressing room. I'm late enough that the boys are already getting ready. But early enough to prepare myself for whatever role Bo had to play in tonight's show. Hopefully nothing too energetic, I wasn't up for something like that.

A knock disrupted me from my thoughts as I pulled on Bo’s body. I froze. “Come in!” I called, a pit forming in my gut. I've been here not even ten minutes and it seemed that we were already deviating from what I was used to. I turned and let out a sigh of relief. It was just the director. “Yes, sir? Is there a problem?”

“Kyoko.”

His rigid tone made me flinch. Was I in trouble? “Y—yes?”

He rubbed his chin, silent for a moment. Each second made me Dread whatever he was going to say. It wasn't going to be good, I knew that much. “I need you on your best behavior tonight, Kyoko. I know you're easily star struck but you need to stay on script this time. No more badminton with a special guest.”

Badminton? My heart dropped to my stomach. “Sho... Sho Fuwa? Again?” Did we even repeat guests? Why? Aren't there a million other—

“Not Sho. Someone else.” He paused, ruminating over the words. “Bigger.”

The anticipation was killing me. Because bigger than Shotaro quickly narrowed down the pool a lot more than I was comfortable with. I thought quickly... Who's currently ranking above him in the popularity polls? Obviously, Koga. But I couldn’t of anyone else, except…. My heart raced. No. It wasn't possible. “Who?” I managed to whisper.

“Tsuruga Ren.”

. . .

The whole taping, I was numb. No, not numb. That was the wrong word. It felt like an out of body experience. I could see myself, flying around onstage, fawning over Tsuruga-san like a delirious Fangirl. That was Bo’s role, an easy job given to me by the director, so I didn't screw anything up.

I didn't think I breathed until we wrapped, and I was able to escape to the set’s wings. The only thing that kept me sane was the thankful truth that Tsuruga-san didn’t know that I was Bo. And yet, that still complicated things because Bo is still technically Tsuruga’s friend.

I needed to get out of there before he could find me. I didn’t know if I could keep up the charade of Bo to maintain a conversation with him I needed to go home.

“Kyoko-chan, we’re going to—”

Turning, I waved Bo’s feathers apologetically. “Sorry, Hikaru-san, I think I’m just gonna go home.” When Hikaru’s face fell I tried to quickly backtrack. “It’s not that I don’t want to! I do! I’m just feeling bad. And I’m waiting on a phone call,” I gave a weak lie. I wasn’t sick. However, I was waiting for a call from Moko. So, it was only a half lie. It didn’t really make me feel better about the situation.

He nodded, undeterred at my strange behavior and instead shrugged it off. “Maybe next time?”

I smiled, failing to remember that he couldn’t see my face obstructed by the Bo head. “Of course! Scout’s honor!”

Hikaru smiled and turned back to the stage’s exit. He waved, calling out behind him. “I’ll hold you to that! Feel better!” If he said my name after that, I would never know because the door slammed shut behind him before he was done talking.

“So, you’re sick?”

I jumped at the voice behind me. No. The universe just really wanted to torture me today. I turned and found myself beak-to-nose with none other than...no, you guessed it...Tsuruga Ren. Blast my luck. “I—I, uh, might be coming down with something,” I fibbed.

He nodded, his face falling. “I was actually going to ask if we could talk. I haven’t seen you in a long time.”

“I don’t know,” I said. In reality, I didn’t want to have to listen to whatever it was that was causing him problems. Probably Kimiko. But what I wanted didn’t matter. I was Bo. Not Kyoko. “I don’t want to get you sick.”

“Please, Bo-san, you don’t have to talk or anything if you don’t want to.” Tsuruga-san shifted, bordering on uncomfortable. “Just listen? I don’t really have anybody else to go to.”

Go talk to the girl you love, I said bitterly in my head. But there was... there was something about the way he looked that almost made me pity him. And sure enough, I felt my resolve begin to dissolve. Damn it. I was going to regret this. I knew I would.

“Fine.”

Tsuruga’s face lit up in the most brilliant smile and, inside Bo’s suit, I flinched. He grabbed my wing and led me to the dressing room we reserve for guests. I swallowed my objections before they could form. Sure, Kyoko wouldn’t be to happy about being dragging into a man’s dressing room when he has a girlfriend. But Bo wouldn’t have any silly quirks like that. Besides, I’m pretty sure I constructed Bo to actually a guy.

When he closed the door behind us, I let out a short breath. Calm down, Kyoko, you can do this. I cleared my throat and dove straight in. Just like ‘Bo’ would. “I haven’t seen any dating or marriage scandals about you in the news, so I’m guessing you still haven’t done anything regarding—regarding that girl you loved.”

Tsuruga’s lips quirked into a wry smile. “You can say something like that.” He motioned to the couch, opting to take the single chair for himself. The unpleasant look on his face settled into something more neutral. “Sit, please.”

I sat perched at the edge of the couch. As I sat down, I decided then that I would take Tsuruga-san up on his offer. I wasn’t going to talk. Heck, I wasn’t even going to listen. I would instead just watch his face and make the proper vocalizations like ‘that’s rough, buddy’ and ‘hmmm’ when it seemed appropriate. I didn’t care about whatever it is he had to say about his love life. I don’t care. I don’t care. I don’t care. I don’t care. I don’t care. I don’t ca—

“So Mogami-san got all—”

No. Wait. Wasn’t he supposed to be talking about the girl he loved? His girl troubles? Why was I a topic of his troubles that he needed to work through with Bo? Certainly, I just heard things wrong. “Did you...did you say Mogami?”

He stopped, and he cringed away from me. “That’s what got your attention?” He sighed and waved his irritation away. (Served him right, he practically gave me permission to space out while he talked.) “Uh, Mogami is the family name of Kyoko. The actress?”

I nodded slowly, Bo’s head bobbing with the motion. “Yeah. She played Mio in your drama.”

“That’s her.” Tsuruga smiled. It was the same heavenly smile he gave me this afternoon, when he fixed the ring for me. I closed my eyes, willing myself to not be swayed by his look. “You see, today I was fixing a flower ring a young girl had given her and she freaked out at me. She’s chastised me a lot but today...I don’t know. Today it was as if I took a knife and stabbed her.”

Well, that was one way to surmise what happened today. “Well, how did you give her the ring back?”

He shifted, uncomfortable by the questioning. I think he would have preferred if I stayed silent as anticipated. “I—uh, I placed the ring on her when I was done. On the pinky.”

“Uh, huh.” I paused, pretending to ruminate in my thoughts. “And do you know what a ring on the pinky finger means?”

His cheeks went pink and he once again gained the aura of an embarrassed school girl. Just like when he had to admit that he’d never been truly in love. I was just annoyed now as I was then. There was no possible way this man is this naive. I refused to believe it. “Of course. There are a few meanings, but I was hoping... I kinda thought she would have thought I was just wishing her luck and confidence in the reading she had today. She didn’t take it that way.”

“How did she take it?”

“Like a slight on her integrity?” He smiled, and I wanted to punch him in his perfect face. “I know I’m mostly to blame for her resolve as an actress. See, I know about her past and tried to set up boundaries, so she wouldn’t continue to get stuck by her past coming back to haunt her. But I also hoped that an attempt at flirting would be met with so much anger.”

Silence fell over the room. There was... too much to process. He was saying....

The so-called ‘Actor’s Heart’ he had told me about on Valentine’s Day... was to distract me from what Sho did to me  
He cared enough about the distress about my first kiss being stolen that he told that tale about his first kiss....and now I can only wonder: was that story even true?  
He was...flirting? With? Me?

Nope. Not possible. I must have heard wrong. “What happened? How did—How did she react?” I barely caught myself asking how ‘I’ reacted. Wow, Kyoko. Pay attention, or you’re going to get caught.

Tsuruga-san sighed. Not quite one of his not-good-do-it-over sighs I became accustomed to when we were working Katsuki. But it was similar enough to make me cringe. “She started to accuse me of two timing Morizumi Kimiko, another actress. An actress I haven’t spoken to in at least a year and a half, mind you.”

A year and a half? My nerves bundled in my belly. Was it possible that Kimiko...lied to me when she overheard Koga mentioning (quite loudly) that he could tell I had feelings for Tsuruga-san? “Is there...any substance to her claim?”

“Not at all,” he scoffed. “Morizumi-san always tried to circulate rumors that we were dating. They never stuck. Y’know, I was prepared for Kyoko to brush off any hint that I might be in love her, but she blind sighted me today with all this talk about—”

“Wait.” My voice was barely a whisper. “The girl you’re in love with...is Kyoko?”

His brows stitched together as he studied me. “You’re really slow processing things today, aren’t you, Bo? Your head on a little too tight? You’re usually thinking faster than me.”

I forced a laugh. “Yeah, you know me. Feather brains. But you wanna know what? I actually—I actually have to leave. Like right now.” I didn’t even wait for him to register what I was saying before bolting to the door and making a run for it. It’s not possible. The door swung open behind me. He was gonna try and follow me, but I was already halfway down the next hall, stripping Bo’s suit off as I ran.

“Bo?” His voice echoed in the empty studio.

“Kyoko-chan, you’re still here?” Matsumori-san, one of the stagehands, called after me. In the brief moment I saw him, there was worry etched into his usually stoic face.

I turned over my shoulder realizing, trying to appear jovial. “I’m running late, I’m so sorry!” As I turned back to the hall where my dressing room was, I realized I was too late. Too sloppy. Too awful. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Tsuruga-san turning the corner while Bo’s costume was still stuffed in my arms. Crap. Crap. Crap.

I dove into my dressing room and pressed my back against the door when it slammed shut. If he knew it was me, he would certainly leave me alone. Because there’s one thing I knew for sure:

Tsuruga Ren was not in love with me.

. . .

Much to my relief, when I left my dressing room Tsuruga-san was nowhere to be found. I didn’t even have any more missed calls from him. Maybe he finally realized what a big mistake it’s been trying to reach out to me. He probably even realized that he didn’t love me, he just got confused by staying in such close proximity to me when we played Cain and Setsu.

“Yo, Kyoko-san.” I turned at the sound of my name called as I walked out from the studio entry. Erika. One of her attendants rolled her out from the shadows of a nearby alley.

“Yes? Koenji-san?”

Her brows furrowed together. “You know, I can’t be everywhere you are without raising suspicions. Besides, it’s a compromise to my own recovery.”

She said it so matter-of-factly that I immediately felt guilty. “What are you talking about?” I didn’t ask her to be here and couldn’t figure out why she was here to begin with. Unless she was here to talk about last night? But even then, I still didn’t ask her to be there. I was appreciative, sure. However I wouldn’t say that it dictated a reason for her to be here.

“LoveMe girl, can’t you use whatever voodoo you used to protect Kanae to protect yourself?”

I blinked. “Voodoo?” I thought back to when Erika was trying to sabotage Kanae’s casting in the Curara commercial. I tried to ignore the daunting similarities to how far Erika would go to get a role, compared to Kimiko. “I didn’t do anything to protect Moko-san. And I...and I don’t see how I could have prevented last night?”

She just rolled her eyes and huffed. “I’m not talking about tonight, LoveMe. I’m talking about tonight.”

“Tonight?” She couldn’t possibly mean....

Erika gave me a tight-lipped smile. “I do possibly mean. I was here to visit a friend on set and I ran into one of Kimiko’s lackeys. Luckily she was distracted by Tsuruga Ren when he left the studio.” She spoke her words carefully. “We were able to surround her. She was planning on kidnapping you, LoveMe.”

Excuse me? “You must...be mistaken. There’s no use in kidnapping someone like me.” I swallowed, my words thick in my throat. “I’m not that important.”

“Whatever it is that Kimiko wants from having this role, it’s enough to want you out. At whatever cost.” She frowned. “You need to be careful. Call your agency. Get a bodyguard. Where’s your manager?”

I hesitated. The last thing I wanted to do was inconvenience LME or their staff with something like this. Especially if Erika was overreacting. “Yashiro-san isn’t my manager. He’s...Tsuruga-san’s.”

If she was surprised, she didn’t show it on her face. Her attendant, however, looked at me with a dropped jaw. The look on his face was obvious: What was this girl doing with Tsuruga Ren’s Manager? “Good, even better. Stay with Tsuruga Ren. Kimiko wouldn’t dare touch you when he’s around. She still wants to look good.”

I flinched. “It’s not that easy, Koenji-san. I can’t just—”

“It doesn’t matter if it’s easy, Kyoko. You can end up hurt. Like me. Or worse.” Her voice escalated to a shrill shriek, her hands shaking at the armrests of her wheelchair. “You don’t understand. You can’t let her win. You can’t.”

I thought of the Curara ad. I think a year and half ago, Erika might have escalated to situations like these if Kanae didn’t scold her. I don’t know enough about her new persona, the one where she doesn’t rely on her family, but it felt as if she felt that Kimiko potentially hurting me...would be as if Erika herself hurt me. How could I seek ‘revenge’ for her attack if I couldn’t keep the role? And Erika deserved my attention to her problems. I took her role from her after it was stolen from her. I owed her this much, even if I couldn’t really exact the “revenge” her attendants hoped for.

“Okay, okay,” I waved away her words, ignoring the tension growing in my gut. “I’ll make sure I call my agency when I get home.”

It was enough to satisfy her. Erika managed a smile as she motioned for her attendant to turn her back around to the alley. Probably where they parked. Her voice echoed in the night as she was wheeled away. “Keep your eyes open, LoveMe.”

. . .

A car met me at the front of the Daruyama the next morning. Against my reservations, I called LME when I got home from talking with Erika. I didn’t tell them that I was threatened. Instead, I lied and told them that Yashiro was busy with Tsuruga-san. ‘I didn’t want to threaten their ability to make it to meetings on time,’ I told them. And they bought it, didn’t even question the fact that I used to bus to set and never needed ride before. They scheduled a car for me, telling me that a driver would meet me in the morning.

I stepped out of the Daruyama to find a man in a suit, leaning against a black sedan. He looked up when I showed up and looked me over once. “Kyoko?”

“Yep.”

He opened the door for me, and I slid into the backseat. There wasn’t much else said and he just started driving. I sat at the edge of the seat the whole time, careful not to appear too relaxed. After all, it was a stranger here. This wasn’t Yashiro and it wasn’t even someone I knew from LME. This was new territory. I watched the roads, growing oddly nervous as we moved into familiar territory.

“Um, excuse me, this isn’t the right way. We’re supposed to be going to the set for Box R set.” My chest tightened as he turned right at the intersection. Normally, we turned left when coming from this direction.

“Location change.”

Yashiro-san didn’t say anything about a location change the other day. And I didn’t get a call from the director this morning. Crap. Erika’s parting words echoed in my head: Keep your eyes open. Noooo. It couldn’t be. I looked down to my phone. 0945. I was late. Right now, only fifteen minutes late. I closed my eyes. This wasn’t good.

Three short rings brought me from my thoughts. I cursed, turning the volume down and avoiding the look the driver gave me through the rearview mirror. I had three texts.

A text from Chidori:

Where are you? Everybody’s worried.  
Calling the agency.  
Kyokoooo.

A text from Yashiro:

Kyoko-chan, where are you?  
The driver said you weren’t there  
when he showed up at your house.

A text from Tsuruga-san:

Mogami-san, I know you don’t....  
want to hear from me. But Yashiro said  
your driver couldn’t find you.  
Mogami-san  
I’m worried.  
Please call.

I looked back to the driver. “Where—Where did you say we were going?”

He smiled at me through the mirror. “Nowhere you need to worry about, little girl.”

My hands gripped my purse and I looked to the side door. There were no lock buttons like there were supposed to be. Oh, god.

Someone help me.

. . .

“Don’t you think it’s a bit bold of you to let me know that you’re the one behind this?” I narrowed my eyes at Kimiko, who sat perched in front of me on a desk. It was like she only knew how to replicate scenes because, a close inspection of the scene in front of me told me that it seemed that she was just imitating one of those crime noir movies that was popular a few years ago. As a rule, Shotaro hated watching movies because he said being seen in the theater because it ‘messed with his cool guy image.’ But I remembered the ads and everybody at school talked about it.

Kimiko smiled. “You know, if I thought your word against mine meant anything, I might be scared.” She snorted. “But you’re just a talent. Talents, you know, are replaceable.”

I rolled my eyes but didn’t say anything. I wouldn’t play into her game. It wasn’t worth it. I wasn’t here to act out a scene.

“I met new friends in America and some of them know a lot about you. But I never thought that someone who managed to push as big of a name as Vie Ghoul into a different country would be so plain. Boring.” She waited for a reaction, continuing when she got none. “I’m the perfect Momiji, y’know. I’ve prepared for months for this role, before the script was even written. And to think a girl like you could possibly handle the role? It’s absurd.”

I tested the restraints at my arm. It a series of zip ties attaching me to a chair, not giving me enough leverage to break its hold. I was going to be here for a very long while. “What about Erika Koenji? Was she not good enough, either?” 

Her eyes widened. “She’s a Koenji?” It was one thing to have connections in the industry like she did. It was another to have connections to business. Big business meant big lawyers. Probably lawyers that were more expensive than whatever showbusiness could afford.

I forced a smile. “Scared?”

What I didn’t expect was to have her jump up and cross the room in only a couple of strides. She slapped me, a sharp pain bursting from my cheek. Blood trickled from the wound and I almost laughed at the absurdity of it all. Kimiko was nothing more but another Erika.

Someone should have told her that girls like her never win.

. . .

Time passed, and the room was dark for the past couple hours. The windows were blacked out; the only acknowledgement of the passing time was the pain in my belly and my dry lips. I hadn’t eaten or had anything to drink in hours. Kimiko had left me alone after she slapped me. I was left to pass the time by counting the ceiling tiles (approximately 49) but was quickly approaching boredom because it wasn’t feasible to count the floor tiles. My hunger made me dizzy and unable to keep counting (which was exactly why I always lectured Tsuruga-san on the importance of eating) but I wasn’t about to let something as silly as hunger be the end of me.

It would take a long time for me to die of hunger. Unfortunately, it would take less to die of water. At least, that’s only as long as they didn’t do anything to me first. I just needed to figure out a way to break out of here before they could decide that hiding me wasn’t enough to achieve whatever it was Kimiko wanted to achieve.

Hopefully, they would let me go as soon as they convinced the directors that Kimiko should have the role. And then I would be free to...to give up. At this point, I didn’t see a point to continue with trying to keep Momiji. But at least I’d be able...at least I’d be able to go home.

Maybe I would even be able to....to apologize to Tsuruga-san. For overreacting with the dandelion ring and accusing him of being with Kimiko. Not only did Bo’s conversation with him allow me to recognize that it wasn’t even a possibility, but I knew he would never be with a girl as cruel as her.

But before I could ruminate on how to go about apologizing to my senpai, a wave of exhaustion washed over me. My eyes fluttered shut and my head was heavy, like lead. I blacked out.

. . .

The sound of sirens roused me from unconsciousness. They were close. Did they find me? I was almost too scared to hope. I couldn’t be so lucky.

“Mogami-san?”

Tsuruga-san’s voice wafted somewhere outside the room and that’s when I knew I was hallucinating. There was no way he was here; he didn’t even know where I was. I didn’t know where I was.

The voice shouted again. “Mogami-san!” His voice was frantic, worried. Somewhere behind me, a door burst open. But I didn’t have the energy to turn to see if in fact it was him behind me. “Kyoko!”

Several pairs of feet stomped into the room and then hands were on me. Looking up, I opened my eyes to find Tsuruga-san standing in front of me. His hair was messy and his shirt was covered in dirt and sweat. It was a version of him I’d never seen before. “T-Tsuruga-san,” I whispered, the word struggling to make it to my lips.

“We got her!” Someone called and my arms went slack at my sides. I was free.

Tsuruga jumped forward and pulled me up from the chair. Before I could process the situation, he hiked me up into his arms. “Morizumi-san is in police custody. She sent half a dozen of your co-workers and friends texts from your phone. She made the mistake of texting me and Kotonami-san. We have her, Mogami-san. She won’t be bothering you anymore. You’re safe now.”

Safe? It sounded too good to be true. But I didn’t have the energy to question it. I was too tired to even to pretend to object at the intimacy of the situation; I passed out curled in Tsuruga-san’s arms.

. . .

I woke up to the soft morning light in a hospital and found myself face-to-face with a rose encased in a dome. It looked like a picture straight out of a fairy tale. The yellow rose blossomed with red tips, like a sunset. It was stunning, to say the least.

“That—That was supposed to be your white day gift.”

I turned at the sound of Tsuruga-san’s voice to find the man himself standing in the doorway to the hospital room. “For me?”

Tsuruga-san smiled weakly, walking in and sitting down in a chair across from my bed. “It’s an eternal rose, it lasts a year without watering it. A fairy tale rose for a girl who loves fairy tales.”

Nodding, I turned back to the rose. “It’s beautiful; I love it. Thank you.” It was different than Queen Rosa, who unfortunately died after a few weeks, no matter how hard I tried to keep her alive. Her ‘corpse’ is still on display, waiting for me to turn her into potpourri. I hadn’t been able to bring myself to do it.

“You don’t have to keep it; I just wanted you to know.” I turned to him with wide eyes. That wasn’t what I expected him to say. He pursed his lips and ran his hand through his hair. “I—I, uh, wanted you to know that I haven’t personally picked out a White Day gift and hand delivered it to a girl...ever.”

My jaw dropped. “Not even when you were a child? Before you were famous?”

He just shook his head.

The look on his face warned me that it was a line of questioning I shouldn’t pursue. And, even after all I went through, yelling at him and trying to push down my feelings, I couldn’t help but feel special. I would be nothing but a stupid girl until the day I died. In that moment, I didn’t mind. “I’ll treasure it, Tsuruga-san. I’m honored. Really.”

Tsuruga-san managed a small smile before it fell from his face.

My chest tightened. I didn’t want to have the conversation he was planning on. It was two days since the ring incident. I overreacted and ended up here. If I’d only let him explain himself, I might be in a different situation. If he....if he apologized for all of this, it only meant he was apologizing for playing with the idea of flirting with me. It meant he was apologizing for—for being in love with me.

“You...you don’t have t—”

“Mogami-san.” He stopped me. He didn’t look directly at me anymore, instead opting to stare at the wall behind me. “I overstepped my boundaries, Mogami-san. With the dandelion ring. And...and with Bo. I wanted to apologize for that” He sighed. “I was overzealous, thinking of only myself. I—I forgot to think of you.”

“Tsuruga-san.” I whispered, pulling my arms around my chest. But he wouldn’t look at me. “Tsuruga-san. Look at me.” Please, look at me.

He relented, meeting my eyes. “Mogami-san?”

“I forgive you.”

But Tsuruga-san just shook his head, smiling sadly. “I don’t deserve it.”

I nodded, swallowing my tears. So there we were, back at square one.

I already hated it.


End file.
